Midnight Tiptoe
by MioneBristow
Summary: Set after the events of All In, episode 6.16. Contains flashback and creative liberties with other seasons. I own nothing.


"Okay."

It was all she could think of to say. He'd caught her off guard with the depth of emotion swirling in his eyes. She nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and let him open the door of his hummer for her. She gave him a slight appraising look beneath a veil of lashes and got in, watching his eyes as he shut the door and headed around the front of the hummer. She watched him for a moment before she leaned across and opened his car door for him. She settled back into her seat and tucked her hair behind her ears again, giving him a shy smile when he looked at her and smiled.

He started the Hummer and pulled out of the parking space, heading out of the parking lot. "I'd ask your place or mine, but that seems rather cliché." He commented as he stopped at the driveway. "Besides, I think you'd prefer your place." He gazed at her again before he pulled out into traffic.

"Yeah…" She said softly, biting her lower lip. "You … you remember the way?"

"Yeah." It had been a long time since he'd been at her place. But he remembered the way. It was one of the few things that he remembered with his every heart beat.

How to get to Calleigh's house.

He remembered the first time he'd ever been there.

Not that he remembered how they'd gotten there that time.

It had been after one of his first cases as a CSI. Calleigh and Speedle had sent him to observe the autopsy and his reward for not throwing up was going out with them after work. He'd had a little too much to drink… trying to forget what he'd seen in the autopsy room with Alexx. Speed had laughed and taken off fairly early, while he was still only on his third shot. He never noticed that Calleigh had switched to water after the third shot and he was more than a little off balance when he stood up when they were getting ready to leave.

"I'm fine." He insisted to Calleigh, even though she had just needed to put a hand out to steady him. "I can drive."

"Oh no… I would be a very irresponsible co-worker and friend if I allowed you to drive home. Besides… you rode here with Speed." She laughed, her hearty trill of laughter filling his ears. "I'd hate to end up going back to work to process your crime scene. I'll just take you home with me. You can sleep on the couch and I'll run you home in the morning before work so you can change."

He tried to protest further but she insisted and managed … despite their height difference and the fact that he out-weighed her by almost 60 pounds… to get him shoved into her car and headed to her house. She then managed to get him out of the car and into her house without too much difficulty. Erik wouldn't find out for another … six months or so about how much practice she'd had her whole life getting her father from point A to point B when he was drunk off his ass.

"Now…." She said firmly, managing to get him onto the couch. "You're sleeping here… There's extra toothbrushes and toothpaste in the drawer in the bathroom… towels are … well… Why don't I just go into the bathroom and lay everything out for you…" She smiled nervously, he was staring at her and she was sure that he would forget what she was telling him by the time he'd manage to get himself into the bathroom. "So…I'll just go…" She motioned over her shoulder down the hall and turned to go.

He caught her hand. "You're so beautiful." He mumbled, his dark eyes catching hers in the dim light coming from her kitchen. "Really, Cal… you are."

"You're so drunk." She said with a laugh. "I'm so going to be filing this away for memory."

He shrugged. "It'll be a good memory." He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. "Thank you for the use of your couch." His words were slightly slurred as he let go of her hand.

She rolled her eyes and went down the hall to the bathroom, pulling out a towel set for him to use and setting out the things that she had in excess. "It's all yours, when you're ready." She called down the hall to him before going into her bedroom and shutting the door to allow him some privacy as he made his way to the bathroom.

He stumbled his way to the bathroom, touched to see that she had done exactly what she said she'd do. He started the water in the shower and got in, figuring at least if anything the shower might serve to be a little sobering.

Calleigh waited until she heard the water running before she went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water and two Advil, leaving them on the coffee table for him. He'd need them in the morning if not earlier. She retired to her own room, changing into her pajamas and crawling into bed, letting the soothing sound of the shower lull her to sleep.

She was stirred out of her sleep by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist and she jolted awake. "Eric…? What are you doing…?" She whispered.

"C'mon Cal… it's a big bed." He murmured in her ear, his breath tickling it. "Just a little midnight tiptoe…" He studied her when she turned slightly in his arms to face him. "If you want me to go back to the couch, just say it. I'll go." He sincerely meant that. But he sincerely hoped she wouldn't tell him to leave.

Calleigh was torn. His arms felt good… secure… around her. It had been a while since she'd felt that, having broken up with Det. Hagen about a month ago. They'd been off and on at the best. "No…" She decided. "Stay…" She said softly, rolling over so that she faced him. "Please… stay. Hold me…" She murmured, wrapping her arms around his hips as he pulled her close to his chest. She felt his lips press a kiss to the top of her head and she looked up at him, her expressive eyes closing as she leaned into him, their lips meeting in a soft kiss.

He pulled away after a few moments. "We can't do that." He said, his eyes meeting hers when she opened them again.

"You're right." Calleigh took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "You can stay though if you want." She said. "It's not a good midnight tiptoe if you have to leave." She smiled at him.

Eric chuckled and settled her close again, his hand idly rubbing her back as they fell asleep.

She barely noticed when they pulled up in front of her house, staring blankly out the window. She jumped nearly a foot off her seat when Eric put a hand on her arm. "Sorry." She murmured.

His heart nearly broke to see the terror that rushed into her eyes when she turned to look at him. "It's okay." He assured her quickly. "You've been through a lot." he said, reaching to brush her hair away from her face. "Let's get you inside and you can take a long hot bath while I make you something to eat."

"Not peanut butter and jelly, right?" She managed a smile.

"You don't like my PB & J?" He asked, looking hurt. "But I cut your crusts off and everything."

"I like crust."

Eric laughed. "Fine… I'll leave them on." He teased. He got out of the Hummer and came around to let her out of the car, steadying her when she wobbled as she got out. "Whoa…" he said, reaching for her elbow.

He'd only seen her cry a few times and it nearly broke his heart to see tears well up in her eyes.

"Thanks." She said faintly. "it's been a while since I ate." She brushed off the wobble with the best excuse that she could. She wasn't ready to admit that she had been scared to death and it was more relief at being home… not being there alone… that was taking over right now.

He couldn't help brushing a kiss across her forehead as he pulled her closer, reaching in for her bag before he shut the door and slung her bag over his shoulder. "Okay… hot bath… food… sleep." He stated. "Preferably in that order." He commented as they headed for her front door.

Eric shut the door behind them as he got her into the house, the memories of one of the other times he'd been over, flooding his memory.

"On the couch… no midnight tiptoe, okay?" She had laughed as she said it. It had been about a year since the first time he'd been over. Eric knew she didn't really mean it.

He'd gone home with her that night and they'd talked long into the evening about his family and the boat ride that had brought his family to Florida. Calleigh learned all about his four older sisters and that he'd grown up as the youngest… only boy… in their family for four years until Marisol had arrived. His baby sister was just as protective of him as he was of her and Calleigh marveled at the deepness of their devotion to each other.

"It's after midnight." He commented, watching her cover a yawn. They'd had a full work day and the next one would come early in the morning.

"Yes it is." She agreed, nodding before looking at him.

"So … a tiptoe now…" He smiled, trailing off.

"Isn't a midnight version and would not be breaking the qualification of midnight tiptoe." Calleigh grinned at him, getting up from the couch. "I'll see you in a little bit then."

Eric's grin spread across his face as he watched her leave the room.

He'd waited for her to finish getting ready for bed, finding the toiletries he needed in the same place that they had been at the last time he'd stayed over. He exited the bathroom and instead of going to the couch, went into her bedroom and slipped into her bed with her. "Night Cal." He said softly.

"Night Eric." She murmured, turning towards him and shifting in bed until he chuckled and wrapped his arms securely around her. She felt him press a kiss to the top of her head before they drifted off to sleep.

He watched her as she gazed around her house with unseeing eyes. "Cal…" He said softly.

She turned to look at him, blowing out a slow breath. "Thank you." She said just as softly.

He smiled. "For what? I haven't done anything yet?"

Calleigh managed a smile. "You saved me, Eric." She pressed her lips together. "You're here."

"Only because you actually let me be here."

She gave a little half hearted shrug. "Because you wanted to be here." She murmured. "I'm going to go get that bath started… knock on the door in twenty?"

"Absolutely." Eric nodded, watching her head for her bathroom before he turned to go to her kitchen and start making her something to eat.

They had been through a lot… he and Calleigh. He thought as he started to search her cupboards for food.

He simply couldn't have stood it if something had happened to her.

And not just because he couldn't stand to lose another person that was close to him.

Because… well… maybe because he depended on her as a lifeline. Or maybe because she trusted him with every fiber of her being.

It had been a long time since that conversation.

He'd like to think that Calleigh still trusted him that much.

His eyes lit up when he finally saw what he was looking for and he pulled the food out of the cupboard and began prepping what he needed.

Calleigh sat, sunk down in her bathtub… bubbles up to her chin.

She couldn't help but be a bit surprised at the man in her kitchen right now.

"I don't know what I would have done if something would've happened to you."

His words played on a continuous loop in her head.

Did she dare hope that he meant those words in a more… personal… way than they'd ever truly considered?

"Oh God… I hope so." She murmured, realization dawning on her.

Realization sometimes flooded you.

Sometimes it slowly gained acceptance in your brain.

Sometimes it swept you up in a rush of emotion.

And sometimes… like now…

It dawned on you with a jolt… tiny little pinpricks of emotion hitting you.

It was more definitive than any codeus match.

Calleigh allowed herself to smile for a moment, before her mind wandered to the other way he could have meant it.

As much as she hoped it was the first way… she would be a terrible CSI if she didn't consider the other side of the issue.

The side that said perhaps he meant it as in he couldn't stand losing another person that he was close to.

Speedle…. Marisol….

They had both been very close to him. And their deaths had touched him deeply.

Speedle's death had hit her just as hard.

And having been an only child, she could only imagine how deeply he still missed Mari. He'd lost her all over again when he was shot and discovered that he'd lost six months of memory.

It had been the fear of losing another of her close friends that had freaked her out the most when Eric had been shot.

Well… and there was the fact that she had been feeling even closer to him than usual right before the shooting.

Eric hadn't liked change much before he was shot, she mused.

He absolutely hated it with a passion now.

Calleigh sunk farther into the tub as she mulled over her relationship with Eric Delko.

"I don't want you to move to the night shift." She announced to him as she rejoined him in her kitchen, still toweling her hair off.

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her, motioning her to sit down.

Calleigh took a seat and looked at him with her eyes wide as he sat down opposite her. "If this... this... whatever it is between us that we're probably discussing tonight..." She blinked, tears coming to the surface briefly. "If this is more than what it is now... we're not going public..."

He studied her, taking a sip of the wine he'd found to go with dinner. "Okay."

"Eric... months ago... you said if it was you... you would have gone to the night shift."

"I know." Eric nodded. "And I will."

"No..." Calleigh shook her head. "I won't let you. I think you and I can manage it without changing and here's why..." She smiled at him and took a bite before going into detail as to why her idea would work.

They ate and chatted for a while... still working on the how and why the plan would work. "I'm not sure Calleigh."

"Eric... listen to me..." She said urgently, leaning forward. "You know I care for you... but we really can't go to work and act like anything has changed. I won't let you."

He covered her hand with his. "I care a lot about you too, Cal." He said softly.

"Then we go back to work and make it seem as though nothing's happened." She smiled at him, green eyes twinkling. He smiled back.

"No one needs to know about your midnight tiptoe." She said with a saucy grin.

"No one ever does." He grinned at her.

"This midnight tiptoe will be unlike any other, Delko." Calleigh murmured.

"Is it midnight yet?" He asked, suddenly unable to wait for midnight.

"It's gotta be midnight somewhere." She responded. "Care to take a little tiptoe with me?" She batted her eyes innocently at him.

"Wouldn't miss it." He said solemnly as they got up from the table and she hooked her arm around his waist as they headed through the living room to her bedroom. This was one tiptoe that wouldn't wait until midnight.

**fin **


End file.
